The present invention relates to a stent graft for endovascular deployment into the aorta of a patient to treat arterial disease such as an aneurism. An aortic aneurysm can extend to the para-renal or supra-renal region of the descending aorta. To obtain good proximal seal, it may be necessary to deploy a stent graft which could potentially cover one or more of the branch vessels of the descending aorta in that region.
In the descending aorta there are a number of branch vessels which it is important not to occlude during the placement of a stent graft into the descending aorta to span an aneurism or the like. These vessels include the superior mesenteric artery, the celiac artery and the renal arteries.
The relative position of these arteries can vary considerably from patient to patient and hence it has often been necessary to manufacture a custom made device to fit a particular vasculature.
Throughout this specification the term distal with respect to a portion of the aorta, a deployment device or a prosthesis means the end of the aorta, deployment device or prosthesis further away in the direction of blood flow away from the heart and the term proximal means the portion of the aorta, deployment device or end of the prosthesis nearer to the heart. When applied to other vessels, similar terms such as caudal and cranial should be understood.
Throughout this discussion the term “stent graft” is intended to mean a device which has a tubular body of bio-compatible graft material and at least one stent fastened to the tubular body to define a lumen through the stent graft. The stent graft may be bifurcated and have fenestrations, side arms or the like. Other arrangements of stent grafts are also within the scope of the disclosure.